Summer School 2019: Theresa King
ESTA SUMMER SCHOOL BURSARY REPORT 2019 Theresa King
I would like to say a big thank you to the Nannie Jamieson Nutshell Fund Bursary for contributing towards the course fees and thus allowing me to attend this year’s ESTA Summer School.
This year ESTA excelled themselves in assembling four high class and varied concerts each evening and an amazing range of experiences from a wealth of experts. All offered accessible and relevant advice and skills in fun and practical sessions. I learnt so much through these sessions but also during the invaluable discussions and sharing of ideas with colleagues during mealtimes. The trade stands also offered a rare chance to browse music and equipment and ask advice. Memorable sessions for me were Paul Harris’ animated, witty lecture on ‘Getting the Best out of Pupils, Sarah Upjohn’s coherent presentation on ‘Preventing Injuries in Musicians’ and numerous ideas for promoting good practice habits generated by Lucy Hare. Thankyou Cathy for your idea of rolling dice for practice – I know several reluctant younger students who I will be trying this on next week! What was so valuable, was that all the presenters focused on demonstrating how we could use and adapt everything into our own teaching situations, considering individual and group lessons and learners of all ages. I can honestly say that I have come away energised and excited about the things I have learnt and can’t wait to try them out with my students!
The highlight and main attraction of the course programme from the outset for me was Professor Joanne May’s daily session on Paul Rolland’s upper string teaching pedagogy. I was especially excited as Professor May had been taught and guided by Paul Rolland himself. I have been interested in Paul Rolland pedagogy for some time, having been fortunate to have been mentored by a member of Sheila Nelson’s team when I started to teach “Wider Opps” violin lessons. I really wanted to better understand the basics of Rolland’s pedagogy especially in teaching more advanced bowing and vibrato, so I could approach teaching these more confidently and be better equipped to support students who struggle.
Joanne’s daily sessions were full of humour and great anecdotes of Paul Rolland. She delivered his principles with real clarity, demonstrating how these were applied to teaching violin and viola. Joanne constantly gave examples of ways to use them in our class and individual lessons and was the consummate teacher in that she was eager to learn of new ideas from us. We were able to explore techniques practically during these sessions and ask questions to clarify anything. Joanne was always able to give suggestions about how to fix specific problems with technique or with students who had individual needs. Joanne’s explanation and demonstration of bowing movements from Rolland’s research and the way the parts of the arm and hand move made it all seem so clear. I have already been able to analyse and improve significantly one student’s bowing problems this week as a result. Joanne illustrated how to achieve sautille bowing so easily that I am now eager to show this to another student who has been struggling to master it.
Joanne has helped to highlight the strengths of my teaching but also has given me the confidence and enthusiasm to reassess and re-energise my lessons. I know I have the basics correct but I had missed some of the crucial value of building scaffolding through Rolland warmups. As a result, I am currently revising my scheme of work for year 4. I aim to include more warm up movements and relaxation exercises in all my lessons, including individual ones, rather than rush in and dismiss them once we progress. Rolland observed playing string instruments has similarities to many movements in sport. Athletes at any level warm up and stretch so we should too. I can’t wait to try the ‘case walk’ and case press ups to strengthen little arm muscles! My students have really enjoyed “bird flaps” with and without violins this week.
Rolland promoted starting with exaggerated movements which would become refined and subtle in the “artiste” but that one should always aim for a beautiful sound. I have really come to understand and gain clarity about how lack of tension and early basic exercises are linked inexorably to achieving more advanced techniques. I am going to ensure that from a very early level shifting and vibrato movements are not left to later stages but built into early exercises and games. This week I have already got beginners playing D in lots of different positions using Rolland’s games. They have embraced it and loved it. I am also making much more from the start of LH pizz for good LH shape long before students are ready to play with LH fingers. When we do start fingers I will definitely focus more on 1st and 3rd finger before I add in 2nd fingers.
Thank you Joanne, for sharing so many tricks to engage pupils and develop good basic set up. The “Turtle Race” is already improving LH string crossing and strength in my younger pupils and your 4th finger strengthening exercises have worked well. My pupils and I love the X and fingernail faces and thumb eyeballs to the sky to promote good Lhand set up. Even my older teenagers enjoyed the concept and improved their LH setup! I look forward to using the X and line marks for the bow hold. I have sourced lots of coloured sticky tape and have been practicing perfecting my “pinky houses” ready to make 32 in a couple of weeks for year 4!
Ultimately this is one of the best technique sessions I have ever been privileged to a be part of. I have been able to consider these principles in my own teaching and clarify those evident in the books I use most. Whilst I knew Rolland’s principles of Total body action, Balance and Freedom from excessive tension underpinned these books, I now feel able to build on this material further and develop creative ways to incorporate them into both my individual and whole class sessions.
Terry King
